Lots of sedimentation!

What do you do with bottles with lots of sedimentation? Strain the beer through cheesecloth while pouring it into a glass? Just pour half the bottle?

I have been conditioning an IPA (Midwest HopHead) in bottles for 2 weeks and decided to throw a couple in the fridge to see how it tastes. I picked up the bottles and held them up to the light before I put them in and there was fine sedimentation dispersed throughout the bottle and a good 3/4" of sedimentation at the bottom. I don't think I disturbed the bottles that much by picking them up. After 24 hours in the fridge, there is still a lot suspended in the beer and the slightest movement kicks up a lot of sediment. I used Munton's Kreamy X to carbonate the beer. I'm wondering if that was the problem. I used Kreamy X with a stout and had the same issue. Maybe the beer wasn't done fermenting but I let it sit 2 weeks in the primary and 3 weeks in the secondary with hops so I'm guessing the fermentation was pretty much over by then (and no, I didn't check the FG ).

I've been wanting to start kegging so this may be the final nail in the bottle coffin.

Not sure what Kreamy X is, but it sounds like maybe you werent very careful when racking? I have never heard of that much sediment at the bottom of a 5 week old batch.

That is a lot of sediment. Did you add gelatin to the secondary? You need to let the beer clear before racking, and be careful not to disturb the sediment while racking.

You can't get greedy while racking, that = sediment.

If you let it sit in the fridge for a week before opening, the sediment should "pack down" a little more tightly, and be less likely to be disturbed when you pour. That should help with this batch.

Even with 3 weeks in the secondary your brew should have been cleared, but I suspect you got greedy (trying to get QUANTITY out of the secondary) and sucked up a lot of your hops. This is a very common new brewers mistake so don't feel alone.

Some of us will keep a carboy on the floor of a closet, basement, or wherever then move the carboy just prior to racking for bottling...then some of us will move the carboy to the actual spot we will be racking the day before to allow any rousing of the sediment to settle out another day.

Another practice of many of us is to place a 2x4 (or a wedge) under one side of the secondary to allow sediment to gather to one side.

You may also want to look into using gelatin to assist in clearing.

Right now time and cold are on your side...but you may be in too much of a hurry.

If you have that much sediment that you can't pour without rousing it then I would recommend leaving the bottles in the fridge for at least 1 week before opening. If the sediment doesn't compact by then I would go one step further and pour only the clear brew into a pitcher at serving time and let the rest of the bottle sit until it the sediment subsides again.

Another trick I remember from way back is to lift your bottle by your fingers and give it a quick spin in one direction (and set it down) which will cause a twister type effect in the bottle. This movement will carry/assist any floaties toward the bottom of the bottle.

Yeah, I guess it could be that I got too much sediment when I racked off the secondary, although I do my best to minimize disturbing the carboys while racking. Once I fill a carboy, I don't move it until I have finished racking the beer out of it. I try to monitor the tube for sediment while I'm racking but I guess the fine stuff isn't as noticeable. I used whole hops in a hop bag for dry hopping so I'm not sure how much of the sediment is hops.

I've made about 15 batches and I've only noticed this with the two batches I used Kreamy X. I've used Cooper's drops for the others and haven't had this problem. Munton's Kreamy X is a DME/heading agent mixture for priming.

Don't use Krummy X next time and see what the results are.

homebrewer_99 said:

Some of us will keep a carboy on the floor of a closet, basement, or wherever then move the carboy just prior to racking for bottling...then some of us will move the carboy to the actual spot we will be racking the day before to allow any rousing of the sediment to settle out another day.

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This really works, the rest ideas seem logical too, but that one helped me to reduce the sediment quite well.

First of all - and I HATE people that do this to me but - it's rare I can do it to someone else so I sort of have too.

sedimentation is the act of causing sediment, a process. So while you can have a lot of sedimentation that does not mean you will have a lot of sediment.
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As for the problem.

1, have you done these recipes before so you can judge if it is normal to those particular recipes?

2. get some whirlfloc

3. "3/4" of sedimentation at the bottom" wow - sounds like the junk Lazy Mutt has ion it.

4. Why are you blaming the bottle? Not a bottling problem. think of the gunk you would have in a keg for just wanting a little more head.

Grinder12000 said:

3. "3/4" of sedimentation at the bottom" wow - sounds like the junk Lazy Mutt has ion it.

4. Why are you blaming the bottle? Not a bottling problem. think of the gunk you would have in a keg for just wanting a little more head.

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I agree...

#3 - did no one else (besides Grinder) notice this?!?!?!? This is an INSANE amount of sediment in a bottle. Not only would you have had to pick up all the trub in the carboy, there would have been several inches in the carboy to start with.

#4 - If you're getting sediment in the bottles, it's going to be in the kegs regardless of why it exists.